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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Some people have everything figured out — Andrea Nash is not one of those people. After being kicked out of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea's whole existence is in shambles. All she can do is try to put herself back together, something made easier by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend, Kate Daniels.

When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano — the male alpha of Clan Bouda and Andrea's former lover — die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate ... and must work with Raphael. As her search for the killer leads her into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta, Andrea knows that dealing with her feelings for Raphael might have to take a backseat to saving the world ...(Goodreads)

At thirty-five, baseball star Eric Fisher is washed up. He thought a vacation to his private island getaway would clear his head, help him accept the simple fact that his career is flagging. He was wrong.

In the middle of a solitary afternoon on the beach with a bucket of beer, a woman emerges from the ocean. She’s pretty, with a body built for the bikini she’s almost wearing. She smells like the giant fish she’s dragging through the sand. And she’s crying.

Caren McCabe is livid. Fish species are disappearing fast, no thanks to rich Hollywood types who buy up rare island habitats like St. Andres. Worse, her boat has just capsized, taking with it the bulk of her research—and any hope of getting tenure.

It takes a hurricane to bring them to speaking terms. As the winds howl, they have a meeting of minds and hearts neither of them anticipated. Just as things heat up, though, the full moon forces Caren to answer the sea’s siren call and assume her true form. A form that no mortal man must ever see…much less be allowed to love.

Product Warnings

Contains two wary, wounded hearts with an ocean-sized obstacle to forever love. Who knew love could overcome it by sprouting fins and a tail? Readers are asked to refrain from feeding the sharks.(Goodreads)

Since both girls were small, Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and right-hand lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls - until the young new coach arrives.

Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as "top girl" - both with the team and with Addy herself.

And then a suspicious suicide hits close to home, and the police investigation focuses on Coach and her squad. As Addy begins to suspect what really happened, the line between right and wrong grows blurrier, and she must decide where her loyalties truly lie-and how far is too far to go for someone you love.

The raw passions of girlhood are brought to life in this taut, unflinching exploration of friendship, ambition, and power. Award-winning novelist Megan Abbott, writing with what Tom Perrotta has hailed as "total authority and an almost desperate intensity," provides a harrowing glimpse into the dark heart of the all-American girl.(Goodreads)

Dez is a good girl who does as she’s told and tries not to be noticed.Then she rescues a boy from a cage, and he tells her secrets about herself.Now inside her burns a darkness that will transform her.

Everything is about to change -- and neither Caleb, nor the Otherkin, nor those who hunt them are prepared for what Dez will unleash.(Goodreads)

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.(Goodreads)

Monday, July 30, 2012

Two guys on their way to a fishing trip in the Florida Keys have no idea that $5 million is stashed in the back of their Chrysler. But others do--including an unbalanced trivia buff, his brain-dead partner, and a cocaine-loving stripper. "Vulgar, violent, and gaudier than sunsets on the Keys, Dorsey's roadshow is some fun".--"The New York Times Book Review".

Review:

Dorsey’s Electric Barracuda has intrigued me from the first time I saw the cover. I saw that our local library had the audiobook available for download, I looked into it, realizing it was number 13 in a series…so I started at the beginning.

Florida Roadkill is exquisitely irreverent, perfectly comedic, and gloriously vulgar. It is written for men, and men (and ladies, too) should read this. I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but ended up freakin’ loving this book!

David and Sean are on vacation. They have no clue that they are wrapped up the chase for a stolen $5million. Things happen, and the timing of everything is just so perfect. Dorsey is good at what he does. It’s fantastic and believable at the same time.

I am fascinated by the way Dorsey wove the various plot and story lines together! It’s hard to believe that they all intersect and cross at various and numerous points in the story. I also loved the way Dorsey made fun of the 90s. Parts of Florida Roadkill are very satirical (which I am growing to appreciate greatly the more I read satires).

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Like just about everyone I love going to a good movie. These are some of the book to movie adaptations I am super excited about for 2012.

(Click image to go to IMDB page)

In High School we did the music to Les Miserables and I have been in love with it ever since.

(Click image to go to IMDB page)

In seventh grade I had the most amazing English teacher! When we would read The Hobbit in class he would do all the voices of the characters. To this day when I think of Gollum it is his voice I hear:)

Monday, July 16, 2012

I’m a huge fan of art and museums, and art museums. We found out about an exhibit at the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte that we just had to see. So, on the closing weekend (which was our first chance to get back to Charlotte), we threw some clothes in a bag, the kids in the Titan, and took off on a surprise attack visit to my parents, and the museum.

The Fairytale, Fantasy, and Fear exhibit featured art related to those three topics, and were presented as a walk-through in that order. There were very cool, amazing things, and very disturbing, macabre things…basically a little something for everyone! There were even zombies! And they were eating someone. It was bloody. And it was cool! My favorite art piece was the PVC forest (see the pics at the bottom of the post). Breathtaking, stunning, amazing!
I know that you guys can’t go to the exhibit, it’s closed. but click on any picture to go the Mint’s website. Also, check out the Wiki page for more info on the featured art and some videos.

All images are from the Mint’s website, because they didn’t allow any photography. Which is really sad, ‘cause there’s some awesome stuff that you don’t get to see…like the tar Cinderella’s carriage.

The Mint has some exhibits that are there all the time, and several spaces that rotate special exhibits. There’s also a second location, the Randolph. I never knew that Madeline Albright had so many pins. Check out the info on the website.

Y’all, if you’re ever in the Charlotte area, check out the Mint. It’s really affordable, right in the heart of Uptown, and pretty freakin’ amazing!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Hedge is a typical human—fat and bald, not pretty but not ugly, with a round, doting wife and a farm where he tends beehives. Except Hedge is not a typical human. In fact, Hedge is not human at all, but a plant sent by the Council of Plants and the Plant of Ultimate Knowing to observe humanity and determine whether or not humanity is a threat to the universe. A task he has blithely performed for twenty years. Until the night he receives a message to report back to the Council and realizes he has to leave everything behind.

Pursued by an agent of the notorious Visitors, whose appearances have heralded the end of civilizations, torn between his fellow plants and an awakening affection for his earthwife, Anna, and armed only with a toaster, Hedge must find a way to save humanity from Visitors, plants, and themselves.

Review

There comes a time when we must learn from our mistakes, take responsibility for our actions, accept the consequences, and move on. Stronger, greater, more knowledgeable than we were. Sean DeLauder in a humorous, witty, quirky way explores these themes.

Hedge, a plant come to Earth in human form, has been sent to study humanity, to learn their ways, what makes them tick. It was fun to see us through his eyes. How our everyday, without-much-thought routines can seem trivial and ridiculous.

Even understanding why and how we love someone and how to express that love was hilarious:

She gave him a half smile.

"You're always so weirdly sincere," she said. "I guess I love you for that." The half smile found its other half and became full, but she was staring at him in the intense, patient way that told him she was waiting for something. Not just something, an equal acknowledgement of the love which she had just expressed.

Hedge thought a moment, then smiled in return.

"I find you highly symmetrical."
(Kindle Locations 427-433).

Even some of our greatest pastimes were analyzed, shaken down, and exposed at their basest levels:

He thought he'd wasted time with Anna, watching the glamorized violence on the television; wasted time sitting on the porch as he waited for the magical moment when the sunlight fell behind the willow and exploded it with radiant orange; wasted time gazing at Anna while the toaster buzzed in his hand before slinging him across the cosmos to end up standing here—in the mud, dripping wet, waiting indefinitely. The only wasted time, he decided, was not the moments idled away in pursuit of foolish pleasure, but that period of empty time where you did absolutely nothing and the next foreseeable event loomed somewhere beyond the horizon.

I did a little looking around on Goodreads, seeing how others rated this book, and noticed that there were some discussions people had started. One was related to the subtitle of the book: A Love Story. And I was perplexed because I didn’t notice that when I started the book. And it truly was. The love between Anna and Hedge spanned miles, hours, planets, galaxies. It was a genuine, real, sweet love. There was nothing more satisfying about this book than that love and it’s many representations in the story.

I don’t want to give anything away, but the ending is just wonderful. I smiled. I mean, y’all, it was that sappy smile, that all-is-right-with-the-world smile. And it was real. At that moment, everything felt right with the story, the world, the universe.

I so enjoyed this book that if I could give away copies to y’all, I would, but I can’t. So, you just need to go buy this for yourself. It is not what I expected it to be, and I am thankful that it wasn’t. The Speaker for the Trees is perfect the way it is, taking it at face value, no additions, subtractions, or substitutions.

Y’all, read this book.

Get to reading,
Richard

*This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Finally, after many long and lonely years, James Wentworth’s life is falling into place. Together with his wife, Sarah, the only woman he has ever loved, he has found the meaning behind her nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and now they are rebuilding the life they began together so long ago.

But the past is never far behind for the Wentworths. While Sarah is haunted by new visions, now about the baby she carried over three hundred years before, James is confronted with painful memories from his time with the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. Through it all, the persistent reporter Kenneth Hempel reappears, still determined to prove that the undead walk the earth. If Hempel succeeds in his quest, James and Sarah will suffer. Will the curse of the vampire prevent James and Sarah from living their happily ever after?

Her Loving Husband’s Curse is Book Two of the Loving Husband Trilogy. Book One, Her Dear & Loving Husband, is now available from Copperfield Press.

Review

Her Loving Husband’s Curse starts just after Her Dear and Loving Husband left off. James and Sarah are very happy to be reunited and are enjoying the life they have with one another. But when you have as much history together as these two have you eventually have to face your past.

I love Allard’s storytelling ability. The way she filled Her Loving Husband’s Curse with so much history and emotion made me feel as if I was in the story. Allard’s writing is just stellar.

James loves his life with Sarah and will do anything to protect it. I like James's character and I can understand the fact that he lost Sarah once so it is easy to see why he would want to be overprotective of her, but it did drive me a little batty that every time he would learn something that he thought would upset Sarah he just didn’t tell her. There is a lot of danger surrounding them and they both needed to stay on their toes.

I really felt for Sarah throughout Her Loving Husband’s Curse. Sarah starts out by facing her past and everything she went through so long ago in Salem. I loved seeing her strength and tenacity while still seeing her vulnerability.

I thought this was great:

James is asked to teach a vampire literature class. I loved this little bit of humor thrown into the story. James loathes all the dumb vampire books out in the world because they all get it wrong :)

“I bet you know more than you think. There’s that book that’s so popular with the
girls these days. What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sure you do. The one about the sparkly kid?”
“Twilight.”
“That’s it. I was thinking the class could cover the development of vampire literature.
People think Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the first vampire novel, but it wasn’t. Sheridan
Le Fanu’s novel Carmilla and Varney the Vampire by James Malcolm Rymer came
first.”

This whole conversation was a lot of fun to read!

Another thing that Meredith Allard did so well, and I have touched on this already, her ability to weave all the history that James has seen into the story. I knew about The Trail of Tears before but now I feel as though I have a personal account of the horrors lived through during that time.

My one complaint:

The pace was a bit off for me in this one. I think it had something to do with the setup because the second half of the book moved very fast for me. I couldn’t hit the page button fast enough.

I know I haven't given a lot away in this review but that is because practically everything I want to say is a spoiler. I will say that I did love the fact that the supporting cast is all back from the first book. I don’t know how Allard is going to wrap this trilogy up from the way she ended this one. I feel like so much needs to happen to keep James and Sarah together… and everyone safe.

There was an echo to James’s voice when he said, “I’ll never leave you ever,” and Sarah realized she was afraid that one day he wouldn’t be there. But that will never happen, she thought. He promised me he would never leave me, and I believe him.
And she did.

If you have not read Her Dear and Loving Husband start with that before you read Her Loving Husband’s Course. This love story is truly beautiful and worth the read.

Happy reading,

Recommended For

Teen and up: There is some violence, kissing, nongraphic sex. a relatively clean read.

About the Author

Meredith Allard is the Executive Editor of The Copperfield Review, an award-winning literary journal for readers and writers of historical fiction. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from California State University, Northridge. She has taught writing to students aged 10 to 60, and she has taught creative writing and writing historical fiction workshops at Learning Tree University, UNLV, and the Las Vegas Writers Conference. Her writing has appeared in journals such as The Paumanok Review, Moondance, Wild Mind,Muse Apprentice Guild, The Maxwell Digest, CarbLite, Writer’s Weekly, and ViewsHound. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Please help me in welcoming Paula Lynn Johnson to the Spine today in honor of her book The Grave Artist

Interview

Hi Paula Lynn, thank you so much for coming to Bending The Spine today!Could you please tell us a little about yourself?

Sure! I'm a California girl, transplanted to Princeton, New Jersey area. Like a lot of writers, I'm a former attorney who figured out law wasn't her cup of tea, although I do help out at my family's law practice (with the writing, of course! Just the wordy stuff, please). I also sell antiques out of Lambertville, NJ. When I'm not writing, I'm hanging with my two eleven-year-olds (twins!), who are at that tricky age where they're starting to realize Mom's a dork, but aren't embarrassed by it . . . yet. I'm also trying to potty-train our puppy with no results.

What can you tell us about Grave Artist?

As far as genres go, the book has a little something for everyone. At heart, it's a murder-mystery, but solved paranormally, since Clare communicates with a ghost. A nice romance plays out along the way. And it's also a coming-of-age story, since Clare starts to learn how to deal with a flawed reality with some grace.

What is your writing process? (Do you do extensive research? Do you write outlines? Do you know how your book will end when you start writing?)

Initially, the process is anything but linear. I usually start with an image or a scene in mind, then build upon it like a jigsaw puzzle until I have a general idea what the story is about. Then I force myself to draft an outline, even if only a few chapters, just to put some discipline on the process and get the ball rolling. The story develops along the way. My first drafts are always a mess, then its endless revising until it works.

I have such a Jane Eyre fetish. Historical gothic at its best! And I've been obsessed with Mr. Rochester since I was twelve years old. Now I'm obsessed with Michael Fassbender as Mr. Rochester.

What are you reading right now?The Flight of Gemma Hardy, by Margot Livesey, which is a great modern retelling of Jane Eyre. (I told you I was a Jane Eyre freak!)

What can we be excited about that is coming from you in the future?

I'm plugging away at another paranormal mystery, this one set in 19th Century New York and involving a young woman paid to be a ladies' companion. It's gothic, and ghostly, and a lot more romantic! I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Again, thank you so much!

About The Grave Artist and the author

The Grave ArtistBy Paula Lynn Johnson
ASIN : B007JZT5A0 BLURB

16-year-old Clare can't stop drawing the bizarre, winged skulls she calls "Sammies". Her psychiatrist assumes the compulsive drawings are just expressions of Clare's grief over her father abandoning her. But then Clare discovers that her Sammies are exact matches for the Death's Head on the grave of Samantha Forsythe, a teen who reportedly fell to her death over two centuries ago.

Before long, Clare's drawings morph into cryptic writings that urge her to uncover the truth behind Samantha's death. Together with Neil -- the friend she might be falling for -- Clare scours the local history for clues. She finds that, although Samantha was engaged to a wealthy landowner, there were whispered rumors of her involvement with a younger, biracial man.

Soon, Clare is haunted by disturbing dream images -- a mysterious eye, a broken chain -- that point to someone Samantha called her "Dearest". But who is Dearest? And why does Samantha need Clare to find him so badly?

Isolated and carrying hidden scars of her own, Clare fears her obsession with Samantha will threaten her sanity and safety. But it seems she has no choice in the matter . . .

The Grave Artist is a compelling paranormal murder mystery and a poignant story about loss and what it means thrive in a less-than-perfect reality.

Paula Lynn Johnson loves a good ghost story. She's a former English major and attorney living in central New Jersey with her husband, kids, cat, dog, and killer rabbit. She adores them all, even the killer rabbit.

Paula also loves a good laugh! You can read her short, humorous pieces on sites like The Big Jewel and Errant Parent, or on her blog, Twaddle Like a Duck.

When she's not writing, Paula sells antiques and art out of Lambertville, NJ. You can visit her online at Tiny's Lambertville.

Friday, July 6, 2012

For the past three years The Uncommon Thread has been one of the most popular regular features of the JOURNAL: of the Mississippi State Medical Association.

Only a state with a literary tradition as rich as Mississippi’s would dedicate a regular column to literary exploration as part of its monthly scientific medical journal. A strong literary commitment is not something new for the JOURNAL; The Uncommon Thread sprang fully formed from its progenitor Una Voce, which now continues under the pen of its founder Dr. Dwalia South.

But, for two years a madman held Una Voce captive while its true author was serving as the president of the Association and then engaged in both her own and her husband’s battles with cancer. By the time she recovered and returned to restore sanity to her own column, the editors were stuck trying to find someplace to put a stream of consciousness gadfly that somehow continued to charm at least as many readers as he antagonized.

Thus The Uncommon Thread was born. So, try a story or two, if you don’t like them, read a few more. Because, in here, you never know what’s going to show up next.

Review:

R. Scott Anderson’s The Uncommon Thread is a hilarious romp through the musings of a deep thinker. Albeit irreverent at times, there is something to be learned from Anderson.

The short essays are witty, full of quips and jabs, but not demeaning or degrading. They are fun, quick reads, all with a message to be taken from them. Several had me actually laughing out loud, some in thoughtful silence. Others brought me to near-tears. What you need to know going into these essays is that you will see life through the eyes of a very intelligent doctor, and reevaluate how you see your own life, how seriously or not you take it, how you will let what you read and learn change you.

I liked the honest voice in which each essay was written. It was relatable and genuine, like going to coffee with a dear friend and discussing the latest adventure and lessons learned. There was a bit of comfort and nostalgia, mixed in with just enough excitement to keep you drawn into the story. Several short stories were included as well. Some were humorous, others verging on unusual or weird.

One of the great things about reading a compilation of short stories or essays is that it is full of variety. I never got bored reading Anderson’s writings! They were captivating. I tended to enjoy most reading his retelling of something that happened within his family, stories about his children especially.

This is a fun, easy read that will open your mind, give your funny bone a workout, and most of all, entertain you.

Get to reading, Richard

*This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review